


Vivacious

by JadeJem



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Ball, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Identity Reveal, Love, Masks, Masquerade, Oblivious Adrien Agreste, Reveal, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate AU, Soulmates, adrien is a little bean, because mari still loves him, but that's okay, fluffy children, mostly adrienette, what is sin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 15:19:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15052085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeJem/pseuds/JadeJem
Summary: Everything around Adrien stops as she turns and makes eye contact with him.





	Vivacious

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, loves! Jade here with an entry to a challenge I could not resist partaking in: The Miraculous Masquerade Challenge (on Amino). I've been meaning to take a quick break from commission and series work, and this is the perfect opportunity!
> 
> Enjoy. ;)

_Exhilarating._

Her every glance in his direction sets him aflame.

_Jubilant._

Her smile is fast and fleeting, but the sensation it marks him with leaves him breathless and stricken all at once for longer than he'd care to admit.

_Euphoric._

Oh, how he desires for her to paint him in her scarlet lipstick like no other.

_Vivacious._

Her eyes beckon him from across the room in a stolen moment that belongs to only her and himself. Drunk on the glimmer in her eyes, he feels himself gravitating towards her. His heart aches when she chances another quick look at him, a bright smile gracing her equally bright lips. She winks at him, her crimson mask catching in the light, before turning back to her friend bearing an orange mask.

 _Rena,_ he realizes with a start. _It's Rena she's with._

Marinette shimmers under the attention of the elegant lights overhead, her porcelain skin shining in lovely contrast to her gown, which is a deep red matching her mask. She easily stands out amongst everyone else in the crowd with her radiant beauty and dazzling smile.

Adrien melts a little when she looks at him again, her gaze appraising as her eyes dance over his tuxedo-clad form. Her eyes gleam with a question when they meet his once more, and goosebumps race down his skin as the barrier of her mind touches his.

_Are we going to talk about it?_

Her voice is clear yet dreamy, and never has he relished in a sound so thoroughly.

_Do you want to?_

Her eyes don't leave his.

_We should._

_It's hard to focus when you look at me like that._

She blushes, eyes widening marginally. He bites the inside of his cheek—he hadn't meant to think that at her.

Her emotions scrape alongside his for a moment, rushing over him in small waves. He momentarily feels her embarrassment, nerves, and hesitant... desire. She liked him thinking that—she likes his flattery and compliments.

Adrien's heart gives a grand leap in his chest.

_Meet me on the second floor balcony?_

_Already there, My Lady._

They move at the same time, both making their way towards the stairs situated towards the back of the grand ballroom of City Hall.

She beats him there by a good minute or so, and he finds her leaning against the balcony, dark hair shimmering in the moonlight as it curls just past the tips of her lightly freckled shoulders.

_So..._

"Do you mind if we talk out loud?" she asks abruptly, turning to look at him as he stands in the glass doorway. "I'm not really used to having to be conscious of your voice echoing in my head."

Adrien closes the door behind himself before meeting her gaze head-on. "Okay."

They stare at each other for a long moment before clearing their throats and awkwardly breaking their eye contact. Adrien pushes himself off the door and cautiously walks over to Marinette, only stopping to hesitantly lean on the railing beside her.

They both exhale at the same time, and Adrien feels himself mentally reaching out towards her—if only to calm her pulse, which is echoing in his ears.

She stiffens at mental contact before quickly relaxing, sending a small, appreciative smile.

"Sorry," he apologizes sheepishly, withdrawing himself back behind the barrier of his own mind.

"It's okay. It felt nice," she responds, the corners of her lips lifting into a sweet smile.

He tries not to stare at her because it's so obvious now.

How could she not be Ladybug?

Though it wasn't how Adrien wanted their identity reveal to go, it had happened regardless not two days prior to tonight...

** 50 Hours Earlier **

"Thanks for coming over on such short notice," Adrien says, grinning at the slightly intimidated look on Marinette's face as she enters the Agreste foyer. "Sorry about the inconvenience; Father would rather us work on the project where he can monitor me." The smile turns into more of a grimace, and Adrien clears his throat when she doesn't respond. "Shall we?"

He leads her into the dining room, where he already has everything they need for their History project set out.

She merely stares at the long table, her expression void as if her mind is elsewhere.

Adrien frowns in concern. "Marinette?"

Marinette jumps, her bright eyes startled as they meet his. "Uh—no. I mean! Yeah! Fine! Great! Dandy! Er... What was the question?" She glances down at something and bursts into a coughing fit.

Adrien immediately makes his way over to her, his hand coming up to pat her on the back. "Are you feeling alright?"

She sucks in deep breaths. "Fine, yeah. It's just..." She looks down again, and this time, Adrien follows her gaze to her wrist, where her Soulmate Clock is inscribed.

"What is it?" Adrien queries curiously, suddenly very interested in the numbers he's never gotten a good look at. When is she going to have her Soul Connection? If he could only get a good look, he could tell based on the black ink counting down the years/months/weeks/days/hours/minutes/seconds.

"Nothing!" Marinette squeaks, jumping once more. "I-I think I'm supposed to be somewhere else right now."

Again, Adrien frowns. "Is it about your Soul Connection numbers?" The numbers that determine who her soulmate is and when she meets them?

Marinette glances up at him, seemingly debating what to say before finally murmuring, "Yeah."

The sudden urge to check his own countdown has Adrien glancing down. He jumps in alarm; he hasn't checked since yesterday! He blinks rapidly before doing a double-take. The numbers tick away tellingly.

**00:00:00:00:00:05:07**

He's supposed to have his Soul Connection in five minutes?!

"Uh," he splutters, quickly tucking his hand to his side, "maybe I am, too?"

Marinette looks up at him slowly. She stares for a moment before asking, "How much time is left?"

Adrien shakes his head, suddenly feeling mute because who is he possibly going to run into in his own house? Maybe he was supposed to sneak out of his house and run into his soulmate on the way to Marinette's! Did he mess up his Clock somehow? Is he going to be soulmateless forever?

"L-let's just get to work," he stammers, trying to clear the fog of worry permeating the air around him. Soulmate Clocks are about destiny and fate. Everything is happening as it should be.

"Actually," Marinette squeaks, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder, "I really think I should be somewhere else right now." She glances down at her wrist once more before turning on her heel and booking it out of there.

Adrien scowls as one of the grand doors close, listening to his instincts and following after her.

The weather had been scheduled for overcast, so Adrien isn't surprised to find himself drenched within thirty seconds of him standing in the rain. It's supposed to rain this entire week as spring melts into the beginnings of summer.

Adrien tries to squint through the persistent rain water clouding his eyes, but he doesn't see Marinette anywhere in sight. He glances down at his wrist.

**00:00:00:00:00:03:12**

The question stands.

Marinette or his soulmate?

Adrien only takes a moment to think about it before gritting his teeth and running down the steps and further into the onslaught of rain. He doesn't know exactly where he's going, but he has this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach that's spreading higher and higher, and it's guiding him.

He only stops when he sees her standing there, at the foot of the steps of their high school. Her back is to him as she stares down at her wrist, a small stream running from the top of her head all the way down to her hand and dripping to the ground.

Adrien looks down at his own Clock.

**00:00:00:00:00:00:13**

_Thirteen seconds..._

Adrien stares at the back of Marinette's head as the realization washes over him. It's as if his hearing is suddenly enhanced greatly, for her breathing, though light, is loud and clear as if he's standing right in front of her.

Everything around Adrien stops as she turns and makes eye contact with him.

** Present Moment **

Adrien and Marinette both release shuddering gasps as the overpowering feeling of one another's emotions wash over them from the memory.

They're staring into each other's eyes, and it takes Adrien a moment to realize that they had just shared a memory. His heart pounds erratically as they continue to stare at one another. Her masked eyes are big and still wide from the sensation of their souls linking together.

The insatiable desire to physically connect to her becomes overwhelming, and his mind reaches out to hers without his permission.

He can feel the way every romantic feeling he's ever harbored for her flows between them and bombards her mind, filling every corner of her body. Frankly, he feels guilty for not being able to control it.

Marinette physically shudders and collapses onto his chest, gripping at his shoulders as the shock waves of his feelings for her flood through her subconscious. She's never done it to him before, but he can't imagine what trying to handle hundreds of different moments all at once must feel like—that's probably why her body is momentarily shutting down.

Oh, Adrien just feels terrible now. It's all he can do to hold her upright. He can feel her shaking against him, though he knows it's not from anger. She finally regains her balance and breathes deeply.

"Adrien," she croaks hoarsely, coughing to clear her throat as she sucks in another breath, "I—"

She doesn't even finish her own sentence before her lips are crashing into his, her mask falling to the floor. Adrien takes a moment to process what's happening before he throws his own mask off and kisses her back with everything he's got.

Rather than doing as he had and opening the floodgates, Marinette simply lets small drops her of burning affection for him melt through his mind and subconscious. It warms him to his very core, and never has he felt so simply and breathtakingly amazing as he does now, the girl of his dreams in his arms, and the masquerade ball happening below them long forgotten.

There's no space for masks now.

**Author's Note:**

> Aww okay so I actually had a dream about this? Like, this is a Soulmate AU I don't think I've seen done before. The whole Clock thing was actually a book concept I came up with back in January and just haven't gotten around to writing (what a surprise)!
> 
> Xoxo, J.


End file.
